Apparatus and method for making wire glass



APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING WIRE GLASS Filed May '7. 1929 l IN1 AINVENTOR GOHGE AUP/EN HIS ATTORNEYS .f /i I /////1,//////// l I PatentedFeb. 1931l UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE A URI'EN, OF ST. LOUIS,MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO MISSISSIPPI GLASS COMPANY,

NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK APPARATUS AND METHOD FORMAKING WIRE GLASS Application led May 7, 1929. Serial No. 361,042.

This invention pertains to the manufacture of wire glass, with specialreference to the placing of the wire mesh in the sheet of glass inproper position and then holding it there.

It has been customary in the manufacture of wire glass by the two-pourImethod, to first form a partially chilled sheet of glass of half thethickness of the finished sheet, then to feed the wire to lie on theupper surface of the half-sheet, and then add another layer of glassabove the wire to form the finished sheet with the wire exactly' in themiddle thereof. One problem in this process is in keeping the wire inthe middle of the glass after it has been once placed there. Thedificulty arises from the fact that the wire 'is laid on the outer orconvex side of the half-sheet before it reaches the forming pass, andthen, after leaving the pass and while t-he upper half-sheet is stillmore molten than the lower half sheet, the direction of motion of thefinished sheet is changed, so that the wire is on the ,concave side ofthe first half-sheet and tends to pull out through the upper half-sheetwith the result that the wire in the finished sheet is displaced fromits central position and a defective product results.

The object of this invention is to overcome the above difficulty bykeeping the wire always on the convex surface of the first halfsheet,which is com )aratively stiff, until the whole sheet has stiienedsufficiently to prevent movement of the wire.

Further and other objects and advantages will be apparent from thespecification and claims, and from the accompanying drawings which showby way of illustration what is now considered to be the preferred form'of the invention.

The drawing is a somewhat diagrammatic cross-section of a sheet glassrolling machine arranged to roll wire glass by the two-pour process.

Molten metal 10 flows from the furnace at the left between lower roll 12and upper roll 14 to form the first half-sheet 16, which is half thethickness of the finished sheet. This half-sheet is carried on roll 12toward side roll 18,

the thickness of the half-sheet 16. While on which is set to form asheet double roll 12, sheet-16 is partially stiffened by contact on itslower side with the roll and on its upper side with the air. tiallystiffened condition, the wire mesh 2O is fed over rollers 22 and 24 ontothe upper surface of sheet 16, and immediately thereafter sheet 16, withthe wire on its upper surface, passes into and through molten metal 26,which Hows from the right, to the pass between rollers 12 and 18, wherethe finished sheet is formed, the wire being in the middle of thatsheet, between the convex surface of sheet 16 and the concave surface ofthenewly formed and comparatively molten half-sheet. y

After leaving the lower pass, it is customary to direct the finishedsheet to the right of apron 30 and over rolls. 32 to the leer. Thischange of direction puts the wire on the convex side of the newly formedhalf-sheet, with the result that the wire being under some tension tendsto become displaced from its former resting place on half-sheet 16 tosome indefinite position in the newly formed and comparatively moltenhalf-sheet, where it remains.

According to the present invention, the

completed sheet passes to the left of apron 30 and is guided close toroll 12 until the sheet is cooled and stiffened 'sufficiently to preventdisplacement ofthe wire, whereupon the sheet passes into the leer overrolls 34. In this manner the wire is always maintained against theconvex surface of the stiifened half-sheet 16, with the result that thewire is not displaced but remains central in the finished sheet. It isto be understood that the invention is not limited to the specificembodiment and construction herein specified but may be used in otherways without departure from its spirit as defined by the followingclaims.

I claim- 1. In the process of forming wire glass, the steps of forming afirst half-sheet, slightly stiffening said half-sheet by contact with acooling roller, placing wire mesh on the convex surface of saidstifl'ened half-sheet, forming the nished sheet hy adding anotherhaiisheet to the outer surface of the first halfsheet whereby the wireis in the middle of the sheet, and thereafter so guiding said sheet thatthe convex surface of the first half-sheet is continuail presented tothe Wire until the sheet is su ciently chilled to prevent the wire fromleaving its original position in the sheet.

2. In a machine for formin wire glass, in combination, a pair of rollsorming a pass therebetween for forming a first half-sheet, meanscomprising one of said rolls for conducting said half-sheet from saidpass, whereby said half-sheet is slightly stiHened, means for placinwire mesh on the convex surface of said sti' "cned half-sheet, and meanscom rising rolls forming a second roll pass for orming the finishedsheet by adding another half-sheet outside of said wire, and meanscomprising a concave apron for subsequently guiding said sheet to theleer, said guiding means acting to maintain the Wire on the convexsurface of the first half-sheet until the sheet is suciently sti'ened toprevent displacement of the wire from its central position in the sheet.

in testimony whereof ii hereto ax my signature.

GEORGE AURIEN.

Merece

